Australia has accepted the lowest number of migrants in a decade as the government aims to provide more workers for rural towns.

The Australian has revealed that 160,323 permanent visas were granted under the 2018-19 migration program.

The permanent migration program will be capped at 160,000 over the next four years, including 23,000 regional visas annually.

International students inject about $32 billion into the Australian economy and the government is offering them an extra year on their visa if they decide to study in a rural school.

Immigration Minister David Coleman tells Steve Price they have high hopes for the program.

“We think that will be attractive and we think that will encourage more students to go to regional Australia.”

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